It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their ears, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.

The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries (食品杂货) saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.

I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that,several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, and then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced (影响) us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

Why was the bike so important to the couple?

A. The man’s job was bike racing.        B. It was their only possession.

C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed.        D. They used it for work and daily life

We can infer from the text that ________

A. The couple worked 60 hours a week    B. people were busy before Christmas

C. the stranger brought over the bike      D. life was hard for the young family

How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

A. From radio broadcasts.     B. From a newspaper.

C. From TV news.         D. From a stranger.

What do the couple learn from their experience?

A. Strangers are usually of little help.     B. One should take care of their bike.

C. News reports make people famous.    D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.

Mrs Smith's husband went off on a business trip to Australia. He wanted to catch the 3:30 plane to Darwin. She was very surprised when he telephoned her at 5 o'clock and said that he was still at the airport.

"What happened?" asked Mrs Smith.

"Well," said Mr Smith, "everything was going fine. I got my ticket, checked my luggage and waited in line at the gate. I walked across the runway to the airplane and I saw my friend Jack Scott. Jack was an airplane engineer. I shouted to him and a policeman caught me."

"Why did he catch you?"

"I don't know," said Mr Smith," All I said was ‘Hi, Jack! '"

The word "hijack" means "to take control of a plane by force".

1.Why did Mr Smith want to fly to Australia? Because____________.

A.he was an Australian businessman

B.he was leaving for Australia on business

C.his wife wanted him to

D.he wanted" to see his wife

2.Mrs Smith was very surprised because

A.Mr Smith didn't arrive in Darwin            B.Mr Smith telephoned her later

C.Mr Smith didn't leave the airport            D.Mr Smith was in Darwin

3.Mr Smith couldn't get on the plane because

A.he met with his friend Jack

B.he didn't get the ticket

C.there was something wrong with the airplane engine

D.he was stopped by a policeman

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A.The police didn't know Mr Smith was Jack Scott's friend.

B.Jack Scott worked as an airplane engineer.

C.The policeman misunderstood Mr Smith.

D.Mr Smith knew why the policeman caught him.

5.Why was Mr Smith caught by the policeman?

A.Because he didn't keep silence at the airport.

B.Because he greeted an airport engineer named Jack.

C.Because the pronunciation of "Hi, Jack" has another frightful meaning.

D.Because the policeman didn't know English.

 

A “blogger” is a person who writes on an Internet website called a “blog”. The word “blog” is a short way of saying “web log”, or “personal website”. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like.

There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to the people who read them.They contain links to other websites.And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others.

A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.

However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.

At thesame time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service “weblogs.com”. He said the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closed.

One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca’s Pocket.Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site.That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook.It has been translated into four languages so far.

Miss Blood says Rebecca’s Pocket gets about thirty thousand visitors a month.She writes about anything and everything —— politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent people from being stolen from online bank accounts.

1.The text is mainly written to _______.

A.introduce an Internet website called “blog”

B.introduce a short way of saying “web log”

C.tell readers about blogs

D.tell readers how to write blogs

2.From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except _______.

A.different ideas                         B.medical advice

C.advertisements                         D.account passwords

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?

A.Politicians don’t use blogs at all.

B.A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs.

C.Those who like to use blogs are mostly teenage girls.

D.Dave Winer closed his “weblogs.com” because of the money shortage.

4.The reason why Rebecca’s Pocket is still going strong is that _______.

A.it was created by a woman

B.it is about the history of blogs

C.it provides useful information and advice

D.it has editions in atleast four different languages

 

It’s really a tough job for automakers doing marketing and sales in China, where competition is acute and customers have little loyalty. They have tried a range of tricks in recent years.

But there should be a moral bottom line. Unfortunately, a Buick dealership used the tragedy of a two-month-old infant to advertise its cars last week on Weibo – Micro blog. And Hyundai Motor followed suit.

On March 4, an SUV was stolen with the infant left inside alone in the northeastern city of Changchun. The news spread widely on Weibo after the baby’s father called the local police and radio station for help. The next day it was revealed that the infant was choked to death and buried in snow by the thief. The online community expressed its deeply felt sympathy and condolences.

The Buick dealership posted a photo of the baby and two of its cars on its official Weibo account to advertise its GPS system that can locate the stolen car. “A few thoughts on the Changchun stolen car and baby incident: when buying a car it’s entirely OK to choose a brand with advanced technology,” said the post. Though the post was made before tragic fate of the infant was known, the action generated a storm of outrage on Weibo. Some online commentators said it is “marketing at the cost of lives” and “extremely despicable.”

Worse was the post on Hyundai’s official Weibo account that advertised the anti – theft system on its new SUV Santa Fe, an entry made after the child was known to have died. The action also enraged micro bloggers.

Both posts were soon deleted. The Buick dealership made an apology on Weibo to the family of the victim and the public. But screenshots saved by users continued to be posted and the negative impact on both brands persists.

The two brands probably didn’t expect such a firestorm of fury from the Internet community, but they really made a big mistake sinking below the moral bottom line. They certainly ruined their own brand images.

The Chinese have the same proverb as the English language – a little leak will sink a great ship. It takes decades to build the great ship of a respectable brand but it can take just a moment of negligence to make it fail completely.

For those in corporate marketing, two lessons should be learned: first, be careful in the era of social media when one wrong can be easily magnified and have disastrous impacts in just a few clicks.

Second and more importantly, think with your brain and heart. Never break the moral bonds of respect for human life and sympathy for our fellow man.

1.Who is to blame for the tragedy of Changchun infant according to the passage?

A.The baby’s father                      B.Buick and Hyundai dealership

C.Weibo                                D.Not clear

2.Which of the following statements is correct?

A.The missing infant was found alive in the stolen car.

B.Micro blog marketing of tragic infant death fuels firestorm of criticism.

C.People can’t see the two posts any more because they were deleted.

D.The two car brands mentioned in the passage spoiled their own reputation by selling the stolen car.

3.What does the underlined word – “despicable” in paragraph 4 mean?

A.Immoral          B.Important         C.Distinguished       D.Considerable

4.The reason why Hyundai’s post was worse than Buick’s is that _________.

A.Hyundai dealership didn’t make an apology on Weibo

B.Buick dealership expressed its deeply sympathy and condolences

C.Hyundai’s post was made after people knew the infant had died

D.Buick’s car was more advanced on its GPS system

5.In the last paragraph, the author encourages people _____________.

A.not to sink below the moral bottom line

B.not to sympathize our fellow man

C.to think twice before making decision

D.to magnify the mistakes people make

 

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